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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: patient · dip · stick · lean · squash · land · charge · cold

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. land — ground
  4. squash — the sport
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. lean — thin
  7. squash — to crush
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. charge — a price
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. dip — to sink
  15. land — to come down
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. cold — not warm
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. charge — in control
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. lean — to bend
  23. land — a country
  24. cold — an illness

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com